EDIBLE EISHES OF QUEENSLAND.— OGILBT. 97 



of body 2-92, 2-58; of upper caudal lobe to same 2-37, 2-15; of anal lobe to same 

 2-82, 2-21. We think, nevertheless, that T. velox should also be reduced to a 

 synonym of T. botla. 



Uses: — In 1893 we wrote — "As a table fish they cannot be highly recom- 

 mended, nevertheless they are by no means unpalatable when eaten perfectly 

 fresh. 1 ' Personally we have nothing to add to this verdict, but we have met 

 with several persons who consider it an excellent fish ; it should, however, be 

 served boiled with a rich brown or oyster sauce. Stead remarks — 4 ' As an edible 

 fish it is of considerable value, and as it is very pleasing to the eye, its import- 

 ance in our future fisheries should be very much greater than at present." From 

 the sportsman's viewpoint it is a somewhat negligible quantity, the irregularity 

 of its movements making its capture a matter of pure accident: still surf-fishers 

 after bream occasionally meet with it and find that once hooked with a light rod 

 and fine tackle, the swallowtail with its rapid movements ami sudden twists and 

 turns is no mean antagonist, hut is capable of calling forth the very highest 

 powers of our most experienced anglers. 



Food: — The greater part of their food, as ascertained by dissection, 

 consists of small fishes and the fry of larger ones, with which are often mingled 

 small swimming crabs and squid. 



Range: — From tin 1 Persian Gulf through the Seas of India eastward to 

 the Malay Archipelago; thence northward to Formosa, where it was collected at 

 Tainan by Dr. Hans Sauter, though it appears to have so far eluded the vigilance 

 of Philippine collectors. To the eastward we recorded it as long as twenty four 

 years ago from Lord Howe Island, whence a specimen was scut to the Australian 

 Museum by Mr. T. R. Icely. Our knowledge as to its distribution on the 

 Australian Coast is extremely unsatisfactory; Macleay does not mention it at 

 all, but as he merely copied Giinther in all things pertaining to fishes, it is 

 probable that his records of T. bailloni should be credited to this species. All 

 the trustworthy continental records of T. botla come from Ea.stern Australia, 

 with the single exception of a specimen captured at Bernier Island. W.A., as 

 noted by McCulloch. The earliest Australian record of this species, by a name 

 which unquestionably belongs to it, was published by the writer in 1893; but if 

 we are right in considering that Alleyne and Macleay 's Percy Islands record and 

 that of Castelnau from Port Jackson, both as T. bailloni, as well as Giinther 's 

 T. coppingeri, also from the Percy Islands, actually apply to this fish, our claim 

 has been thrice antedated by many years. Our record, however, had the merit 

 of fixing definitely the south-eastern range of the " dart," as the species is 

 known in the Sydney markets, at Port Jackson, where, however, it was looked 

 upon more or less as a straggler. But since then Stead informs us of its occur- 

 rence in Botany Bay, a few miles further south, where " during the winter of 

 1907 several baskets, of 75 lb. weight apiece, were taken at one haul." This, 

 however, is a most unusual occurrence, and it is not until we get as far north 



